19 July 2015

The Egg

Now open at LEA19, as part of the current round of Artist in Residence grants, is The Egg by Livio Korobase. The artist's usual playfulness pervades this installation, which spreads across the region at ground level, where land gently rolls in and out of the sea with delightful textures. Livio does little in writing to inform us of his thoughts, and instead provides visitors with an essay called The Egg from the website of the Theosophy Trust, describing ways in which the egg has been spiritually embraced by cultures across the globe. (One hopes that permission was obtained to use this copywritten material.)

The scene is dominated, not surprisingly, by a huge egg that rises about one hundred meters above the ground, supported by extensive scaffolding, on which the figure of a frog is happily perched, looking down in a meditative pose. And indeed, animals are quite central to the build, which includes everything from a hippopotamus to an elephant to a reindeer (or some similar horned creature) adorned with a Zulu proverb. Elsewhere on the ground are a mammoth seashell, a motorcyclist, a grouping of colorful prims that generate music as one interacts with them, two male figures ogling the Venus de Milo, and other odds and ends, many of which include interactive poses.

Don't miss the opportunity to go into the egg itself, where a giant praying mantis perches over an seashell, an egg hovering over its head, by clicking on the arrow nearby on the ground. Explorers who prefer something other than walking or flying will find two other modes of travel — visitors can obtain an airplane (like the sort of balsa wood model plane a child might create) or a bicycle by clicking on them on the ground level. How all the sim's elements (or most of them) fit together to relate to "the egg" didn't connect for me, nor did it for a number of other friends and artists with whom I talked as we explored, but it's an engaging experience that's worth a visit.